United Mine Workers

REGION COURT HEARS UMW'S APPEAL. Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the judge was justified in fining the United Mine Workers union $52 million for violence and civil disobedience during the 10-month strike against Pittston Co. Labor analysts said it's the largest civil contempt fine imposed by an American court and could bankrupt the union. COAL TALKS CONTINUE. Special mediator Bill Usery met Monday with negotiators for the United Mine Workers and the nation's largest coal operators, a spokeswoman said.

John M. Sajdak, 92, died Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008. Born in Scranton, Pa., he lived in Gary, W.Va., for 30 years, where he worked as a coal miner and was a member of the United Mine Workers of America. He has lived in Hampton since 1960, where he retired from the civil service at both Fort Monroe and Fort Story. John was an active member of St. Joseph Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus Council 511. Preceded in death by his first wife, Elizabeth Paul Sajdak; son, John Michael Sajdak; and a stepson, Gregory Klein, survivors include his wife, Jean Klein Sajdak; his son, Robert Sajdak and his wife, Zina, of Arizona; his stepchildren, Karen Trenski and her husband, Dan, of California, Robert Klein and his wife, Donna, of Minnesota, Joyce Ortman and her husband, Lance, of New York; a step-daughter-in-law, Mali Klein of France; his brother, Edmond Sajdak and his wife, Irene, of California; and his sister, Helen Arnold and her husband, James, of West Virginia.

A National Labor Relations Board panel upheld a judge's decision that Ramar Coal Co. did not intentionally discriminate against union members. The three-member panel this week upheld the decision of Administrative Law Judge William N. Cates. In January Cates dismissed charges that Ramar unilaterally changed its hiring and employment practices in dealings to discriminate against members of the United Mine Workers of America. "The board's established policy is not to overrule an administrative law judge's credibility resolutions unless the clear preponderance of all the relevant evidence convinces us that they are incorrect," the panel concluded.

CNU to hold graduation in POMOCO Stadium NEWPORT NEWS - Christopher Newport University will hold its spring commencement ceremonies in POMOCO Stadium on Saturday at 10 a.m. The guest speaker will be Ralph Waller, a Methodist minister who is principal of Harris Manchester College at the University of Oxford, England. He also is a faculty member at Oxford. Waller's teaching and research is in modern church history and religious thought. His publications include "John Wesley: A Personal Portrait," (2003)

Disappointed that the governor won't come to strike-torn Southwest Virginia over the Labor Day weekend, leaders of the United Mine Workers of America now say they'll come back to the state Capitol for another protest encampment. The miners want to again raise tents on the Capitol lawn between Sept. 18 and 22. They submitted an application for the necessary permits Friday, spokesman Rusty Franklin said. Franklin said he expects about 100 miners and supporters to attend the encampment.

Hundreds of coal miners whipped into a frenzy at a United Mine Workers rally at West Virginia's Capitol refused to show up for work today, stopping production at operations throughout southern West Virginia. Sunday's rally was designed to call attention to the UMW's strike against the Pittston Coal Group Inc. and the machinists union's strike against Eastern Airlines, and UMW President Richard Trumka called the meeting a turning point in labor history. "It's time that we fought back," Trumka said told the 12,000 people at the rally.

Howard Phillips, president of Dominion Terminal Associates coal terminal downtown, received a few more phone calls on Thursday than usual. The United Mine Workers of America placed an ad in the Daily Press and The Times-Herald newspapers asking area residents to enlist Phillips' aid in lobbying Pittston Co. on behalf of striking mine workers. Dominion Terminal, which shipped nearly 12 million tons of coal last year, is owned by a group of coal companies including Greenwich, Conn.

REGION COURT HEARS UMW'S APPEAL. Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the judge was justified in fining the United Mine Workers union $52 million for violence and civil disobedience during the 10-month strike against Pittston Co. Labor analysts said it's the largest civil contempt fine imposed by an American court and could bankrupt the union. COAL TALKS CONTINUE. Special mediator Bill Usery met Monday with negotiators for the United Mine Workers and the nation's largest coal operators, a spokeswoman said.

Pier IX Terminal Co. said it has reacted to falling world demand for coal by streamlining operations and laying off another 16 people, bringing its payroll to about half of what it was a year ago. The company now has 50 employees. The downtown Newport News coal terminal is still considering further reductions in its salaried staff, Kirk Lawson, human resources manager, said Wednesday. He said the company would make the decision early next year. Since a record year in 1991, when Pier IX shipped 8.6 million tons of coal, world demand has been dropping, said Doug Starrett, director of marketing.

A National Labor Relations Board panel upheld a judge's decision that Ramar Coal Co. did not intentionally discriminate against union members. The three-member panel this week upheld the decision of Administrative Law Judge William N. Cates. In January Cates dismissed charges that Ramar unilaterally changed its hiring and employment practices in dealings to discriminate against members of the United Mine Workers of America. "The board's established policy is not to overrule an administrative law judge's credibility resolutions unless the clear preponderance of all the relevant evidence convinces us that they are incorrect," the panel concluded.

One year has passed since the United Mine Workers voted to end a strike against Pittston Coal Group Inc. that galvanized organized labor in America. The union and company called the contract a model for the industry to build on in the 1990s. Del. Jackie Stump, who was president of the UMW's Virginia district when he was elected to the Virginia General Assembly, said signs of the strike's impact are beginning to be seen in organizing drives and contract talks. "Labor as a whole has prospered some from it," said Stump, a UMW board member.

A few years ago, Elizabeth Hanford Dole, then secretary of transportation, learned that a former schoolmate, with whom she had recently become reacquainted after a 40-year gap, was dying of cancer. The schoolmate, of modest means even when the two were growing up in Salisbury, N.C., needed expensive medical care which she could scarcely afford. Dole insisted on paying her friend's hospital bills, which she continued to do until the woman died. When a writer asked Dole about the story in 1987, she wept, not only for the memory of her former classmate, but for the memory of their school days when the woman was mistreated by her better-off classmates.

The lion and the lamb will lie down together, the Bible prophesied, and a little child will lead them. On New Year's Eve, two mortal enemies - Pittston Coal Group Inc. and the United Mine Workers - made peace. They were led by W.J. Usery Jr. "We toasted a future relationship together that would be meaningful for the miners as well as the company," said Usery, who mediated a tentative agreement that may end the nine-month strike by Pittston's union miners. "That's coming a long ways, you know."

A bitter and often violent, nine month strike against the Pittston Coal Co. by miners appears to have ended with a negotiated settlement that seems to please both sides. For most of the strike's duration, that goal appeared impossible. Nonetheless, although details have not yet been revealed, both management and the United Mine Workers expressed satisfaction with the settlement and pleasure that it apparently has ended a battle that from its beginning was marked by violence and intransigence.